In the center, Green Marszalkowska, and in Praga Południe, concrete Washington Street. Redevelopment of one of the district's main arteries may end up cutting down 300 old trees. Local councilors are pushing for a wider roadway.
Washington Avenue is one of the main streets in this part of Praga Południe. On both sides of the thoroughfare, which runs between Saska Kepa and Skaryszewski Park, grow rows of tall, old trees. However, the green corridor may soon become a concrete desert. This is because 290 trees interfere with plans to reconstruct the street. The concept envisaging cutting down the greenery is the result of protests by local councilors from Civic Platform and Law and Justice, who gave a negative opinion of the Warsaw Trams' project envisaging the narrowing of the street.
cars more important
Photo: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia Commons
Maintaining the existing number of lanes for cars will require changes in the roadway's geometry to bring it into line with modern regulations. This, in turn, will have to come at the expense of greenery. Such measures are in complete contradiction to the measures pushed by the city government to increase the number of trees along the city's arteries. However, it turns out that the district's "party concrete" does not follow these trends.
There should be a steady increase in greenery in Warsaw. In squares, streets, squares, backyards. We have an idea how to do it - and together! Let's green our city anew and make Warsaw the greenest capital in Europe!
Rafał Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw
dangerous street
Currently, Waszyngotna Avenue is not a very friendly place: cars regularly exceeding the speed limit cause a huge noise, in order to cross the wide roadway pedestrians have to rush through zebras without islands, and according to data from the City Road Administration, from 2015 to mid-2020 there were dozens of accidents and collisions there, including 5 involving pedestrians. 1 pedestrian was killed in them. In 2020, Warsaw Trams proposed a vision for reconstruction, reducing the cross-section of the roadway, calming traffic and introducing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. These assumptions involved narrowing the road to one lane in each direction.
Photo: Masti / Wikimedia Commons
councilors in disarray
As a result of the councilmen's negative opinions, Tramwaje Warszawskie presented a new version of the project, which, however, is incompatible with the already issued environmental decision and the provisions of the Saska Kępa development plan. It does, however, fulfill the wishes of councilors, who, however, gave a negative opinion on this project as well. The Committee for Spatial Development and Environmental Protection of the Council of the Praga-Południe District of the City of Warsaw, at its meeting on 15.09.2021, rejected the projects for the reconstruction of Washington Avenue presented by Tramwaje Warszawskie and appealed for the preparation of another concept that would not involve either cutting down trees or narrowing the roadway. Such a project, however, seems unfeasible under current legal conditions.
residents defend greenery
Urban movements and residents of Prague-Southhave come to the defense of Washington Avenue. They issued a petition to Warsaw Trams with an appeal to implement the original project.
Washington Avenue is a beautiful green corridor in the heart of the district. We should be deconstructing parts of it where unnecessary pavement lies, rather than robbing it of trees. Residents are against the cutting, they want a quiet, safe street there, not a runway. If it were otherwise, we wouldn't have collected nearly 1,500 signatures on a petition against the logging in two days.
Marek Szolc, councilman, initiator of the petition
The authors of the petition are in favor of improving safety and traffic calming on Waszyngotna Avenue and upgrading the tracks, which are in urgent need of repair. At the same time, they oppose any solution involving the mass cutting of old, valuable trees.
The petition is available online at.
